Coleman v. Zatechka

Kristy Coleman (plaintiff) enrolled as a student at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (university) (defendant) and sought dormitory housing. Students applying for dormitory housing filled out applications stating whether they wanted single or double rooms and any preferences for roommates. Students requesting double rooms were then assigned roommates, either randomly or through mutual specific requests. Coleman had cerebral palsy, requiring her to use a wheelchair for mobility and to have a personal attendant assist her with dressing, showering, and using the bathroom. Coleman applied for a double room with a nonsmoking roommate and expected to be randomly assigned a roommate. Instead, the university assigned Coleman a single room in accordance with a university policy stating that disabled students requiring personal-attendant care could not be assigned to double rooms without mutual specific-roommate requests. The policy was enacted due to past disabled students expressing embarrassment over roommates seeing their attendant care and to increased room-change requests from unhappy students randomly assigned to disabled students’ rooms. The university also argued that wheelchair users took up more than their allotted space in double rooms. Coleman complained to the Department of Education, and the university agreed to find Coleman a roommate. However, after a failed search for a voluntary roommate, the university refused to require another student to be randomly assigned as Coleman’s roommate. The university asserted that Coleman’s disability and need for attendant care excluded Coleman from participating in the assigned-roommate program. Coleman filed suit in federal district court, alleging violations of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).